One of the touchstones of the scientific method is the testing of hypotheses. Thus, the practice of scientific research requires that hypotheses are verified against existing knowledge bases. When dealing with areas of research that span multiple domains, such as biomedical research, testing a hypothesis may require consultation in a variety of different areas of research. Consider, for example, the case of a researcher wishing to verify that the fusion gene TMPRSS2-ERG is associated with hydrolase activity. To test this hypothesis, the researcher would be required to perform multiple consultations within a variety of different knowledge bases involving biomedical research. This increases the complexity of the inquiry, as well the time required to execute it.
Another problem associated with conventional approaches to testing hypotheses relating to multiple and different areas of research involves the issue of testing all possible logical deductions entailed by different knowledge bases. Taking the example above, it is a logical deduction that an association with peptidase activity entails an association with hydrolase activity, since peptidase activity is a type of hydrolase activity. Thus, the researcher wishing to verify that the fusion gene TMPRSS2-ERG is associated with hydrolase activity would also have to test an association with peptidase activity, since it is a logical deduction. Finding and testing all logical deductions of a knowledge base can be time-consuming and error-prone.
Another problem associated with conventional approaches to testing hypotheses relating to different areas of research involves the issue of identifying those axioms that either support or contradict the hypothesis being tested. Conventional approaches may be used to determine whether a hypothesis is supported by a knowledge base, but fall short of identifying which specific axioms within the knowledge base support or contradict a hypothesis. Often, the identity of such supporting or contradicting axioms will shed light on the hypothesis and advance the research. Without the ability to identify such axioms, the utility of the conventional approaches are limited.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for addressing the problems with the prior art, and more particularly for a more efficient and user-friendly way for verifying hypotheses against existing knowledge bases.